Flying Decoy Bar and Grill — Restaurant in Rock Hall

SERVICE: Being in hospitality my whole life, I’ve coached my teams on this service being paramount. Everything can go wrong but with the right person your tables can still want to return. Nothing went wrong however because our server was a rockstar with social intelligence and ability to anticipate needs of her tables. Destiny was attentive, remembered everything and answered questions about the food. She is observant and knows when to stop and talk or when to efficiently get an order, and keep it moving so the guests can talk to each other. She had a dinner pop and also knew to give a table away to ensure her guests have a good experience. (Assuming that was her call, but a good one nonetheless) too many tables=decreased tip percentage (it’s a fact) thanks for taking care of us. Atmosphere: establishment still looked like it did when it was Baywolf. This chef/owned restaurant should really consider a much needed face lift . The dining room looked like a church with stained glass windows. A place named Flying Decoy should assume an identity. Light woods and beige would enhance the ambience and with a couple cool light fixtures. Seating in dining room needs attention too. When I first walked in the place resembled the haunted house on the boardwalk in OC MD… and kinda smelled like it too. The bar was a little less outdated, but seating needs attention there too. Our table was sticky and my seat looked like a church pew. It was loose too lol. A decent sanding and repainting topped with a lacquer could suffice. Just be sure to tell the staff not to use things like windex or other stripping cleaners. (From my experience) The bar noise carries and could be fixed with some sound proofing padding (used this at Ruse in St Michael’s) lighting, decor and maybe a painted mural representing the waterman/hunting history would be cool too. Just my opinion but though FOOD ITS GOOD! You can tell the chef has worked with upscale dining with the freshness of the food and portioning. He seems to be what locals would call a “chicken necker” based off the descriptions of the food on the menu, however, he seems to know food. Happy hour pricing was great with offerings like mussels, nachos and some other traditional HH options. Drink specials as well. Menu had a nice variety including steak, seafood and vegetarian options. It was a perfect size but the wine list was unimpressive. Typically I like to try starters entrees and dessert but we ate light this evening. Burger was cooked great and was freshly made. Great size. Truffle fries with a dipping sauce ( maybe a garlic aioli) The mussels were on happy hour so I got 3 and the portion was just right. They were cooked perfect and the broth was not too buttery. It was served with the traditional (eastern shore) white wine butter and herb broth and “Texas style” toast. My opinion however, that it was missing the old bay dusting. The soup I ordered was called blue crab corn chowder. I would strongly suggest changing the name however. No one from MD says blue crab as they need no description…We consider these the ONLY crabs and everything else gets a description.(like snow crabs or king crab) 😊. I was hesitant to order it at first, since it had corn and a “chicken necker” description, (just kidding) but I did, and it was delicious. Cream of crab is overdone in this town and in the area plus it can be heavy on stomachs . Mixing cream of crab and MD crab soup however, will always be my favorite. stomachs. The flavor was outstanding and didn’t over power the crab. Well done Chef. Only change I would consider is using fresh lump crab to garnish the center with for appeal and plated nicer. (Can increase price to $10 with lump crab) Hope my suggestions are not taken out of context and are with all good intent for the consumer and owner alike. I know that town can be tough since I lived there way too long. I’ve been in hospitality for over 24 years and have owned, operated and consulted for over 30 concepts.l in PA, MD, and DE…and there’s really no place quite like...

Never had tough deveined shrimp until the 7 shrimp that we had tonight. Not a quality shrimp used in this Spainish Shrimp appetizer. Portions are very small for entrées. Out of menu items and specials again, which has happend last 2 times before. Never left review bc they were working out the kinks. Closed earlier than advertised last Monday by 1.5 hrs and refused a burger as I could hear the conversation on the phone between the person in charge, whom clearly stated the food being cooked was for the wait staff and they are closed. The time was 8:30pm when this happened. According to the internet source closing time was 10pm.Think we are done trying to get a good meal and drinks.It's a shame bc we wanted to see better and hoped it would get there. Food is editable its just overpriced, for overcooked small portions and inconsistency in the cocktails. Maybe we'll try it...

There was some confusion with google reservations and we were able to make a reservation after the kitchen had closed. Everything in town closes very early at nine and they thankfully let us order and were extremely accommodating. Above and beyond food and service! I’ve worked in restaurants and I understand the inconvenience of a party coming in close to closing or at closing and am very appreciative. Our baby was being very fussy and we decided to pack up and eat back at our hotel and the waitress had everything ready to go with napkins and silverware, didn’t even have to ask. The staff were all so kind! My husband had a burger and fries and I had a caprese salad with salmon. To start we had the duck fat fries - we will definitely be coming back for a visit for these fries and the warm and...